


Running

by thatsoccercoach



Series: Which Door? [19]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 06:37:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13781850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsoccercoach/pseuds/thatsoccercoach
Summary: Claire takes the girls out for a jog and Jamie goes along to keep them company.





	Running

                                                      

“Sassenach, I’m home!” Jamie pushed through the doorway carrying his bag of supplies and spotted the jogging stroller in the entry, ready to go out the door he’d just come through. There stood his wife. In leggings. Leggings were one of his favorite things for her to wear. Definitely.

“We were just about to go for a run.” She stood on tiptoe and firmly planted a kiss on his lips. “It would be fun if you came with us,” Claire said with a questioning tone. “I know you’ve already worked a long shift but I’d like to spend time with you and I doubt I’m the only one.” She smiled as babbling noises emanated from within the stroller.

“Though I am a wee bit tired, I’m certain I can manage a run wi’ my lasses.” He stuck his head into the stroller from which more baby noises originated. “Let me put on something for running and I’ll come along.”

Their townhouse was small so even though Jamie had gone into the other room, his wife continued to converse with him, her voice only slightly raised, while she gently pushed the stroller forward and back. “Today we got up, had a lovely breakfast, did laundry, _and_ baked cookies,” she told him over the increasingly loud babbling. “Did your time at work go smoothly, Jamie?”

“Oh, aye. It went well,” he grunted from their room where he was quickly changing into clothes for running. “Even caught a nap at the end of my shift!” he replied exultantly as he emerged from their bedroom in running shoes, shorts, and a lightweight jacket.

“So you’re sure you’re up to this then?” Claire queried. “I know running isn’t typically your method of fitness training. I don’t want you to be too worn out at the end of a long day.”

“Sassenach, I may not run as often as ye do, but I’m still fit.” He grinned at her and flexed his muscles in a display of mock vanity. “I dinna think it will be a problem,” he finished.

Claire smiled as if she knew something he didn’t and headed for the door pushing the stroller.

* * *

They’d run a five mile loop from their neighborhood and back. By heading out to the nearby park that had smooth, packed gravel trails they were able to run what Claire had called her “hill route.” They left the park from a different path and headed back toward their home, approaching from a different direction than the one in which they’d left.

Claire’s pale cheeks had flushed red and the wispy hairs near the nape of her neck began to stick with sweat. Jamie would have thought she looked lovely. He would have if he’d been able to form a coherent thought but since he was deprived of oxygen, he couldn’t think straight. He was used to lifting weights or climbing, definitely _not_ running. He hadn’t anticipated it would be so difficult to keep up though.

“Gah!” Jamie rolled on the mattress clutching at his calf, his face a rictus of pain. “ _Ifrinn_!” he exclaimed through clenched teeth.

Claire’s musical laugh was abruptly muffled by her pillow as she tried valiantly to not wake any wee Frasers in the next room. “It’s just a cramp, Jamie,” she laughed again. “Let me rub it for you.”

“Dinna touch me, woman,” he glared from under furrowed brows. “This is _your_ fault, ye ken?” He couldn’t decide if he should rub the spasming muscle or wait until it loosened up on its own. He didn’t know if he actually _could_ rub it

 Her shoulders shook with mirth as she continued to laugh into her pillow. “Really Jamie,” she grinned but managed to stop laughing. “I’ve got you.”

 _I’ve got you._ She always did. From the moment they met, when he’d looked her in the eye and known that she’d hold his heart forever. The day she’d agreed, thrilled, to be his wife. When she said “I do,” to him on their wedding day and promised him every day after. Then she eased her warm hands gently down his leg to soothe the pain.

Tenderly she cared for him as she always had and as she always would.


End file.
